Mastered by Malone (Haven, Texas 6)

Not that he gave a fuck. So long as later, he had Mia back, safe in his arms. Mia was also lying on the floor. His heart had stopped when he’d seen that. He’d almost lost his shit until he’d seen her move.

They were all in place now. His brothers had the place surrounded, waiting for his signal to go in. Thank fuck, he’d gotten her that GPS tracker.

“Think Angelo set the fire?” West asked.

He nodded. Yep, as a diversion. He guessed whoever had taken her had slipped into the house when the power was down so as not to set off any alarms, which made him think that had been deliberate and not due to the storm. That had just provided some cover.

Fuck.

“I should have guarded her better. I should never have left her on her own.”

“We’re gonna get her back, brother,” West told him. “Nobody messes with the Malones. Course you’re gonna have to make it official so people know not to mess with her.”

“Oh, I’ll be making it official.” There was going to be no doubt in anyone’s mind who she belonged to.

“About fucking time, thought I was gonna have to marry her myself,” Raid said. Alec turned to glare at him. “What? Only way to make sure she keeps us fed.”

“What’s the plan?” West asked.

“Raid and Tanner are going to take out the three guards outside. I’m going to go in there and have a talk with him and the rest of you, except for Tanner who’s taking watch, will wait for my signal, then come in hot.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Jake asked. “He could shoot you on sight.”

“He won’t. He needs me to get to Mateo. But I need to be in there to protect Mia.” He didn’t like how she’d curled up into herself on the floor. Had that bastard hurt her? He’d kill him.

“Just remember, we only shoot as a last resort. And we don’t shoot to kill,” Jake warned.

Alec nodded, but if his baby had been hurt then all bets were off.

Mia couldn’t believe he was just walking through the front door like nothing was amiss. Like he was walking into a business meeting. She wanted to scream at him to run, to get out of there. Only, she knew he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t leave her. He’d never leave her.

Tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t get him killed. She just couldn’t.

His gaze immediately went to her and he studied her intently. She wished she could sit up, but last time she’d tried, the pain had been agonizing. Alec’s gaze turned to look at each of the men standing around her. His fury filled the room, so cold she shivered.

“Who hurt her?”

“What are you doing here?” Angelo asked, looking panicked. “How did you find us? Where are my guards?”

“Who. Hurt. Her.”

The worry cleared from Angelo’s face as he realized he had the upper hand. Or thought he did. One of his goons had his gun aimed on her, as though they’d been worried she’d make a run for it. She could barely breathe from the pain; she was hardly in any condition to run. “She must have gotten bruised while being transported.”

“How did you find her?”

Angelo shrugged. “Bugged her cousin’s house. Heard his call to her a week ago, arranging to transport her back to New York. I sent my boys down first to scout around. They found Osborne here sniffing around your place. He was very helpful. We came to an agreement. Osborne wanted you gone. He wanted your land and was more than willing to let us use his place as our base. Unfortunately, Osborne also had a use-by date.”

Alec glanced down at Osborne then away, his expression not changing. This was the Alec who’d done terrible things that she knew he’d probably never talk about. This was the Alec who was going to make Angelo wish he’d never been born. Thank God. She relaxed as she realized he wouldn’t be here without a plan.

“So? Did you contact Mateo?” Angelo asked impatiently.

Alec tilted his head. “How did you know who I was?”

“Osborne had photos of you all. I recognized you. You don’t remember me, do you?”

“He only remembers the things that are important,” Mia said quietly.

Angelo glared at her. “Shut up, bitch.”